Improvement in casting bronze



G. R. MENEELY.

I Casting Bronze. N() 165353, Patentedjuly6,l875.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

GEORGE E. MENEELY, or Wns'r TROY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT m cAs'Tmc BRONZE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 165,353, dated July 6,1875; application filed February 15, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. MENEELY, of West Troy, in the county ofAlbany and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements. in Casting Bronze J our'nal-Bearings, and other shapes inI copper molds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, illustrating the same, in which Figure 1represents in perspective a cast copper mold, in position for receivingthe molten bronze metal. Fig. 2 represents a section through the same.Fig. 3 represents in perspective a journalbox bearing of bronze, cast insaid mold, sometimes called chills, though the metal is not chilled.

My invention consists in casting bronze shapes in coppermolds, whereby Iobtain condensed or compressed bronze, capable, in journal boxes orbearings, of great endurance and resistance to frictional wear.

Journal boxes or bearings of bronze metal have heretofore been cast insand molds. This, for such uniform shapes, is quite expensive, asskilled molders are required, sand has to be purchased and renewed, andmuch foundry-space is taken up. Iron or steel molds or chills will notanswer the purpose, for two reasons, viz: first, the gas evolved by thecontact or flowing over of the hot bronze upon iron or steel renders thebronze porous, and in that condition not suitable for journalbearings;second, the liability of the hot bronze to weld to the iron or steel,and thus ruin both the molds and the casting, renders thesemetalsimpractical. And it may be further stated that, if these twoobjections of themselves were not fatal to the use of iron or steelmolds, the fact that they are liable to be forced open under theinternal pressure, or must be opened to relieve the expansion fromwithin, render such iron or steel molds useless for the purpose ofcasting bronze shapes, such asI propose, as they would fail to becompact, condensed, or compressed, as they are in copper molds.

I have ascertained by practical tests that a bronze shape cast in acopper mold is of a specific gravity of more than six per cent. greaterthan one of similar size cast from the same crucible, and out of thesame metal, in sand, and, being more dense, is of greater hardness andendurance.

In the use of copper molds for molten bronze metal, it is not necessaryto open the molds to relieve the casting within, and thus,

by keeping the copper mold tightly clamped until the bronze metal hasset, it has a density and hardness like that of actually compressedbronze, for though it is not mechanically compressed, as is sometimesdone, it is prevented from expanding, and so retains its greater densityover bronze cast in sand.

I am aware that combined copper and sand molds have been essayed formaking cast-steel shapes in. The liability of the steel to becomeattached to the gate or flask of the copper metal renders it necessary,as between these metals, to make provision for removing one or raisingthe other, to prevent this occurrence. Bronze and copper take morekindly to each other, and the difficulties that attach to iron and steelmolds and molten bronze, or copper molds and molten steel, do not occurin pouring molten bronze into copper molds or chills.

In Figure 1, I have shown at A a two-part cast copper mold, in theposition which it occupies-viz, a vertical onewhen the molten bronze isto be poured into it. The clamps for binding and holding the two partsof the mold together are not represented. but maybe of any of the usualwell-known kinds. The interior of the mold is formed for producing ajournal-box bearing as seen at B, Fig. 3, and the entire surface of saidbearing is cast in contact with the copper surfaces of the mold, andwithout sand, while to preserve the density of the bronze metal, andgive it the character of condensed bronze, the molds are not opened, orthe clamps slackened, until the bronze metal has set, and may be withsafety removed.

By this process great expedition and economy are attained, and a moresolid casting of bronze produced than can be produced in sand.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim is- The processof casting bronze journal-box bearings in copper molds, for the purposeof producing greater density in the bronze metal than can be obtained bycasting in sand, substantially as described.

GEO. R. MENEELY.

Witnesses GEORGE MORELAND, ANDREW WILsQN.

